The invention relates to a process and apparatus for producing liquid pig iron or primary steel products from iron-containing material in lump form, such as partly and/or fully reduced iron sponge, in a fusion gasifier, in which, with lump coal and possibly other carbon-containing material and oxygen-containing gas being fed in, and with simultaneous formation of a reduction gas, the iron-containing material is fused, possibly after prior full reduction, lump coal being fed to the fusion gasifier from above and, together with the iron-containing material, forming a fixed bed in the fusion gasifier, thereby giving off its fraction of volatile hydrocarbons into the dome space located above the fixed bed, pulverized-fuel burners, which are operated with a carbon carrier in fine particle form and an oxygen-containing gas, passing through the shell of the fusion gasifier in a horizontal cross-sectional plane of the dome space at approximately equal distances from one another and being directed obliquely from above towards the surface of the fixed bed.
In processes of the type described above, it is known to feed lump coal directly to the fusion gasifier as a source of energy. The coal is in this case fed to the fusion gasifier from above and subjected to shock heating in the fusion gasifier because of the temperatures prevailing therein. The heating of the coal in this pyrolysis step causes its content of volatile hydrocarbons to be driven out and given off as gas into the dome space. Since it is necessary to convert the hydrocarbons in the reduction gas that are released during the pyrolysis, until now a dome temperature of approximately 1050xc2x0 C. has been required to ensure thermal decomposition within a specific residence time in the fusion gasifier.
This thermal decomposition results in that, apart from hydrogen, carbon in the form of soot is formed as a reduction gas component according to the equation: 
resulting in an additional, very fine-grained dust burden.
Owing to the size of the dome space and low gas velocities, uneven gas distribution and consequently inhomogeneous gas mixing occurs. This leads to inadequate heating of coal particles located in critical zones, consequently to incomplete degasification, with the result that the coal dust which is drawn off with the reduction gas from the fusion gasifier tends to agglomerate.
A further effect of the inadequate gas mixing in the dome space is that the residence time of the hydrocarbons in critical zones of the dome space is not adequate to ensure their complete thermal decomposition. This in turn has adverse effects on the reduction potential of the reduction gas drawn off from the fusion gasifier.
It is also known to feed additional energy to the fusion gasifier through pulverized-fuel burners directed obliquely from above towards the surface of the fixed bed. Such burners are operated with carbon carriers in fine particle form, usually carbon-containing, dust derived from the process and an oxygen-containing gas, for example industrial oxygen or air. The operation of these pulverized-fuel burners usually takes place substoichiometrically, i.e. apart from introducing additional energy into the fusion gasifying process, the purpose of the pulverized-fuel burners is to generate reduction gas components (CO and H2).
The object of the present invention is thus to provide a process in which the reaction conditions in the dome space of the fusion gasifier are set in such a way that the formation of soot during the decomposition of hydrocarbons driven out from the coal is largely prevented. It is intended overall for the dust burden carried by the reduction gas from the fusion gasifier to be reduced and also for the tendency of the dust to agglomerate to be reduced.
This object is achieved according to the invention by the operation of the pulverized-fuel burners with a carbon carrier in fine particle form, with oxygen-containing gas being controlled in such a way that the combustion of the carbon fraction of the carbon carrier in fine particle form takes placexe2x80x94in a way corresponding to the set stoichiometryxe2x80x94in a proportion of at least 40% to form CO2, whereby the volatile hydrocarbons given off by the coal are converted in an oxidizing manner.
The CO2, which flows from the burners to the place where the hydrocarbons are released, causes the latter to be converted no longer thermally (see above), but in an oxidizing manner, according to the equation:
CnHm+nCO2xe2x86x922nCO+m/2H2xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(II)
It is known from the prior art that this reaction proceeds adequately rapidly even at relatively low temperatures in the presence of a catalyst, for example Fe dust, which is in any event present in sufficient quantity in the dome space of the fusion gasifier.
The process according to the invention makes it possible for the first time for the thermal decomposition of the hydrocarbons driven out of the coal to form hydrogen and soot to be largely prevented and at the same time for additional reduction gas components to be obtained.
According to a preferred embodiment of the process according to the invention, the operation of the pulverized-fuel burners is controlled in such a way that the combustion of the carbon fraction of the carbon carrier in fine particle form takes place in a proportion of at least 70% to form CO2.
Since the thermal decomposition and oxidizing conversion of the hydrocarbons are reactions competing with one another, it is of advantage if the oxidizing conversion is favored by offering more orxe2x80x94with respect to the hydrocarbonsxe2x80x94an excess of oxidants in the dome space.
According to a further embodiment of the process according to the invention, the pulverized-fuel burners are aligned in such a way that a gas-mixing turbulent flow is generated in the dome space by the burner flames.
The generation of a gas-mixing turbulent flow has the effect on the one hand of ensuring a more even mixing through and consequent warming through of all the gases and solid particles located in the dome space, and on the other hand, of also making the residence times of the gases and solids in the dome space more uniform, so that consequently a fuller, ideally complete, oxidizing conversion of the hydrocarbons is made possible.
For generating this gas-mixing turbulent flow, it is of advantage if the pulverized-fuel burners are aligned along lines extending askew in the same sense with respect to the vertical central axis of the fusion gasifier.
The pulverized-fuel burners are thus directed obliquely downwards, proceeding from the shell of the fusion gasifier, but are not aligned in a converging manner, that is not towards the vertical central axis of the fusion gasifier, but xe2x80x9cpointxe2x80x9d to a certain extent past the central axis.
This embodiment has the advantage that the pulverized-fuel burners generate a spiral-form turbulent flow, which is particularly suited for even mixing of the components of the dome space and for making their residence time more uniform.
A further advantage is that the burner flames are not directed straight at the charging point of the coal, that is the central region of the surface of the fixed bed, thereby preventing excessive thermal grain disintegration being caused by abrupt degasification.
Further subject-matter of the invention concerns an apparatus for producing pig iron or primary steel material from iron-containing material in lump form, such as partly and/or fully reduced iron sponge, with a fusion gasifier provided with a charging device for lump coal, a reduction-gas discharge line with a solids separator for drawing off generated reduction gas, a gas line for oxygen-containing gas, a feeding device for the iron-containing material, a run-off for molten slag and molten pig iron, as well as with pulverized-fuel burners, each pulverized-fuel burner being provided with a dust line for carbon carriers in fine particle form and a supply line for oxygen-containing gas, a lower portion of the fusion gasifier being provided for receiving liquid pig iron or primary steel material and liquid slag, a central portion for receiving a fixed bed of lump coal and iron-containing material in lump form, as well as an upper portion as a dome space, the pulverized-fuel burners passing through the shell of the fusion gasifier in a portion at a specific height of the dome space and being arranged essentially evenly spaced from one another and directed obliquely from above towards the surface of the fixed bed.
Such an apparatus is characterized according to the invention in that the charging device for lump coal is arranged in such a way that the feeding direction of the lump coal is aligned essentially in line with the vertical central axis of the fusion gasifier and in that the pulverized-fuel burners are aligned along lines extending askew in the same sense with respect to the vertical central axis of the fusion gasifier, the pulverized-fuel burners with the dust line and the supply line being designed for an at least 40% conversion of the carbon fraction of the carbon carrier in fine particle form into CO2.
According to an advantageous feature of the apparatus according to the invention, the lines along which pulverized-fuel burners are aligned have in each case the same normal distance from the vertical central axis of the fusion gasifier.
To be understood here as the normal distance is the distance between two straight lines measured along a third straight line which, with the two other straight lines, that is the line along with a pulverized-fuel burner is aligned and the vertical central axis of the fusion gasifier, in each case encloses a right angle.
A turbulent flow which utilizes the geometry of the fusion gasifier or of the dome space particularly advantageously, in particular a spiral-form turbulent flow, can be achieved in this way.
According to a further feature of the apparatus according to the invention, two to six, preferably four, pulverized-fuel burners which are evenly spaced from one another and pass through the shell of the fusion gasifier are provided.